


Let's bake love

by wendyXmii2



Category: SaifahZon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Boys In Love, Co-workers, Enemies to Lovers, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friendship/Love, Gay, Gay Panic, Love/Hate, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:34:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26300476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wendyXmii2/pseuds/wendyXmii2
Summary: Zon starts working at a bakery, where he meets someone he would rather avoid. Saifah finds one of Tutors friends interesting, but ends up annoying him accidentally.Or: saifahzon being their cute selves whilst exploring possibilities.
Relationships: Saifah/Zon (Why R U?: The Series)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 66





	1. A shaky start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zon finds himself a new job

**A shaky start**

Clutching the CV in his hands, Zon turned a corner on one of the shop streets. There it was, the bakery that had the advertisement for personnel plastered at his university. His nervous hands kept rechecking if he had everything on hand, the CV, ID, list of references, pen and paper… Did he forget something? Hopefully this wasn’t the case, because he was running out of time. The agreed time of the interview was in 10 minutes. The next shopping window over, Zon quickly checked his appearance. Not that he could have changed anything about his unruly, messy black hair and his usual jeans & shirt appearance though…

Sighing in defeat, he continued his walk toward the bakery which was about 200 meters further on. Nervously wiping non-existent dirt off his shirt, he entered the store…. to exit 30 minutes later still in a daze. Did that just happen? All he could remember was him blabbering non-stop about how excited he was about starting a new job and that he really, really needed the cash because his parents struggled to support both him and his sister. They must have been pretty desperate, hiring him like that on the spot.  
During his walk home, he decided to text Zen to tell him about the interview and that it was a miracle that they hired him.

_**You told them you really needed money? WHO SAYS THAT DURING THEIR INTERVIEW ZON!** _

Zon winced when he received Zen’s answer. I mean, he wasn’t wrong? Why did they hire him when he made such a mess of the interview itself?

_**I know, I know. I am not sure myself why they hired me, they must have been really desperate? Or maybe they have a weak spot for idiots who can’t stop rambling when nervous.** _

Zon sent his text before entering the dorm building, greeting a few students along the way. He’d better get his coursework done since the bakery asked him to start tomorrow to learn the basics. Whilst heating up leftovers from yesterday, he checked his phone for messages. One from Zen and one from Tutor, he grabbed his now hot food and a fork and sat down to answer. Zen’s message was about the interview and the job whilst Tutor was asking about the assignment for their class tomorrow and if it was possible they could meet up earlier to go through the questions.

_**You want to meet up for that? Surely you're not the one in need of help Tutor. 😐** _

Tutor’s reply followed quickly after, which left Zon huffing. “Oh, it is not for me, of course. I am helping you out, silly.” Said Zon out loud whilst imitating Tutor’s voice. He threw the phone aside on his bed, and started his coursework, he would show Tutor that he didn’t need any help….

Zon was supposed to meet Tutor the next day in the library at their university, so he made his way up the first floor and entered said library. Looking from left to right, he was scanning the room until he found the familiar face of Tutor…and him… Saifah..

Now that is one person he did not wish to see. He glared in Saifah’s direction, in hope that the tall person would get the hint and leave. Saifah however, merely smirked in his direction and poked Tutor whilst saying “I didn’t know you had to help shorty again. I bet he needs all the help though in order to increase his grade.” Tutor looked thoughtful at Zon before turning to Saifah again.

“Hmm, well since you are partly to blame, why don’t you help him then, Sai?” Tutor suggested whilst looking in Sai’s direction with an all-knowing look. Zon threw his bag on the table and sat down in a huff.

“Can’t you go destroy the lives of other people somewhere else, or worse, their grades.” There was a slight change happening in Saifah's eyes but it was over before Zon could determine what that change was. The smug look returned in Saifah's eyes when he said to Tutor "Guess I'm not wanted here, that's ok though because this subject looks boring as hell. I'll go see what Day is up to." He got up and sauntered off after that. Tutor eyed Zon and sighed.

"Are you really still mad at him because of what happened a while ago? I'm sure he had a good reason."

"I was never friends with him in the first place, Tutor. I only know him because he's your friend, remember. And yes, I very much am still mad, he ruined my grade." Zon looked into the distance as he remembered the past.

*5 weeks ago*

"Tutor, Tutor, are you free right now?" Zon came running as soon as he saw Tutor’s familiar frame around the corner.

"Hey Zon. I'm afraid not, I promised Fighter to help him move to his new dorm. Why, what's up?" Zon's face dropped to a pout.

"I'm supposed to drop off my project before 16:00 but my mother told me to come home ASAP, and my bus leaves in 5 minutes. I'll never make it up to the classroom and back in that time." Tutor patted Zon on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, we can find someone fast. Oh, there comes Sai, I'm sure he can drop it off for you." Both Tutor and Zon turned to the direction Tutor pointed at.

"Saifah? But…. I don't know him that well, can I trust him to complete this task for me?" Zon's face scrunched up like he was thinking hard.

"It's not like you have any other choice, Zon, other than doing it yourself and missing your bus. Hey Sai!" Tutor waved at Saifah, beckoning him over.

"Hey Tutor, Zon, what's up?" Saifah nodded to the both of them.

"Can you help out Zon, Sai? He needs to deliver his project but he needs to leave… like… now." Tutor said whilst checking his watch.

"Sure, can do. Which professor and what room?" Zon gawked at Sai for a split second before he pulled his backpack off his back to dig for the files.

"These files are the one, for Prof Medthan on the 2nd floor, room 207. It's really important, they make up for ⅕ of my final grade. Thank you so much, I really need to go now, please don't forget!" Zon stuffed the files in Saifah's hands, turned around and sprinted for the bus stop.

3 days later…

The classroom was filled with sounds of people packing up their stuff and moving chairs. Zon just put all his stuff in his backpack when he heard the Prof call out his name.

"Zon, can you step into my office for a minute please, I need to inform you of something before you leave." The Prof opened up her door and motioned for Zon to step inside. Once both were settled on a chair, the Prof started talking.

"This won't take long, so you can join your friends for lunch in a minute. As you are aware, your project was entered into my mailbox too late. The deadline was 16:00 and when I emptied the mailbox it wasn't there. Another Prof did inform me that a boy did drop off some files around an hour later, but she did not recognise said boy. So I suspect you let a friend from another faculty drop it off?" Zon's face turned pale as he stuttered his reply.

"I-it was entered too late? B-but… how could this happen, i-"

"That's enough, Zon. I am not really interested in the how or why. Things like these do call for reprimands though. This was an important project, so you should have made sure it was delivered on time and not count on others to do that for you. 2 points will be deducted as punishment, 1 for being late, and another for letting others deal with what should have been your responsibility. I hope you learn from this, so that it won't happen again. It's a shame really, as you did really well on this project. You can go join your friends in the cafeteria now, enjoy your lunch." Still shocked about this news, Zon stood up from the chair and left the professor's office after mumbling a goodbye.

Zon entered the cafeteria in a foul mood. Glancing left and right, he soon found his target, Tutor and that long 'giraffe' who failed to deliver his project on time. He stormed his way over to their table, looking murderous. Sai stood up to throw away his trash when he saw Zon bulldozing his way directly to him.

"Saifah! Why did you have to mess it up huh?!" He stood in front of Saifah, looking up towards his face. Annoyed at this view, he hopped on the bench to tower over Saifah instead. "You delivered my project too late! Now I got 2 points reduced from my final score. And it is such a huge part of my final grade at the end of this year, how will i ever fix this?" Saifah's eyes widened when he heard Zon talk.

"But, you never told me-" Sai started to talk, but Zon quickly talked over him so he couldn't finish his sentence.

"Argh, never mind. Thanks for this, guess I know who I can't trust anymore." Zon huffed and jumped off the bench to go to his group of friends, leaving a confused Saifah behind.

*present time*

After Zon and Tutor worked their way through the questions for the assignment they both went their own ways. Other than the run-in with Saifah, Zon's day at university was rather uneventful and he couldn't wait to start his first day on the job. He took his bike with him this morning so he could ride it straight to the bakery after class. It saved money on the bus and he got some exercise at the same time, a win-win situation in Zon's mind. Not to mention some fresh air, as he drove past a beautiful park with lush trees and bushes, and bright colours were scattered across the flowerbeds.

He parked his bike on the side of the bakery building, where a narrow path leads up to the backside and the employee entrance. One of the employees greeted him when he entered, showed him where he could put his stuff and handed him an apron. After a quick round of introductions, they got to work. The girl who was introduced as Fai showed him the basics of the register.

"Is it your first time using a register? They pretty much all work the same way, you've got your subgroups up on the screen. Once you tap one of them, more options show up, for example croissants are found under pastries. Tap them once to add to the check, tap multiple times or press the plus sign next to the item at the checkout." They went through the most common options used and Zon watched as Fai helped a few customers in between.

"So, what do I do when I have no customers?" Zon asked when the last served customer stepped out of the bakery.

"There's plenty to do, you can refill the shelves or clean the tables. Though if you do refill the shelves, make sure not to put too much in there. You don't want to have too much left over at the end of the day. We usually keep a max of each item, for example this cake, we only refill it up to a maximum of 3. Whilst smaller and cheaper stuff like bread rolls or croissants are filled up to 15." Fai then showed Zon where the refills should be taken from and where the cleaning equipment was.

The next few days Zon got to the bakery each day after class to further his skills at the register and helping out around the shop. It was needed because he would be doing a shift on his own soon, the shop owner had told him. So Zon was very shocked when the shop owner called him to the office on a Thursday and asked him something he never expected.

"You want me to do what?" Zon gawked at the person in front of him.

"But I was having a really good time at the register and in the shop, I think the customers like me as well, they keep talking to me." The shop owner nodded in agreement.

"I know, but I have no other option at the moment. My other employee just up and left me and the job agency has no replacement this fast. You have shown to be a very fast learner so I have no doubt you can learn this too. The other employee in the night shift making the products is a very competent person and a nice fellow. You would really help me out alot if you accept it, plus it's extra pay." Zon's eyes locked on the shop owner at the words 'extra pay'. He could really use the extra cash, plus it's only on Saturdays…

"Ok, I'll do it, but can I keep some shifts after class still? Zon looked at the shopkeeper, who was thrilled to hear this news.

"Of course you can, though not the Friday one, because that will clash with the night shift on Saturday. Thank you so much Zon, you have no idea how relieved I am. You saved me from a nightmare. Your shift Saturday starts at 3am, the other employee has the key and is always there early, so just knock on the back door and he will let you in. You can go back to Fai now and close up for the day. If there's any pastries left that you like, you can take them with. It's a little extra that my employees get when they are as hardworking and helpful as you are. Plus, throwing them away is a waste." Zon thanked the shop keeper before going back to Fai to tell her what just happened.

"You get to work the night shift? Damn, I don't know whether to call you unlucky because of the worktimes, or to call you lucky because you get to work with 'the hunk'." Fai giggled.

"I don't know his name though, but apparently he goes to the same university as you do, and I've been told he's gorgeous. What pastry will you get? I think I will take a vanilla bun today, or maybe a chocolate chip finger...oh no i can't decide!" Fai rambled on whilst Zon's brain tried to remember if he knew anyone that worked at a bakery.

The Friday at university passed by as normal. Zon was sitting on a bench outside with Tutor during their lunch break and he was informing Tutor on how his job has been so far and about the change in his shifts.

"Wait, you will be working the night shift on Saturdays? Interesting." Tutor tried to control his smirk, but he partially failed as Zon seemed to notice.

"Why is that interesting? Do you know something I don't, Tutor? Don't play tricks on me now, I swear." Zon pointed his finger at Tutor whilst trying to look intimidating. Tutor raised his hands as if to admit defeat.

"I just mean that it's interesting to see how you will struggle to get out of bed on time." Zon huffed in annoyance.

"I'll be fine, I've got 2 alarms set. Just because I overslept on the first day of uni doesn't mean I do that regularly." Tutor smiled at the memory,but then turned his head as he saw a familiar figure making his way over.

"Hey Sai." Tutor raised his voice to call out to Saifah, and at the same time he saw Zon looking around for an excuse to yeet himself out of there. Zon told Tutor that he had to go to sleep early and he slipped away before Saifah reached the table.

"What's up Tutor. I see tiny running away as soon as he sees me, as is tradition."

"Oh well." Tutor brushed it off, like it was nothing new. "So how's work been lately, Sai? Any new developments going on?" Saifah furrowed his eyebrows, Tutor normally never asked about his work before, not that it mattered much. So he answered Tutor.

"In fact, there is, my usual Saturday partner has quit so I'm getting a newbie tomorrow. How come you're asking?" Tutor smirked.

"No reason…."

Both alarms blare non-stop at Zon's head after what feels like just a few hours of sleep. Zon tried to go to sleep early but ended up turning around in his bed for hours on end. The last time he checked his clock, it was already 22:30, but he fell asleep some time after that. He woke up groggily,so he did a quick morning routine before heading out the door at 02:30. It is a 20 minute bike ride from his dorms to the bakery so he should have plenty of time. He parked his bike on the usual spot and then knocked on the backside door, waiting for it to open. After a minute and Zon knocking 3 times, the door finally opened. Zon's mouth fell open in absolute shock when he saw the person who just opened the door for him.  
"...Sai..?"


	2. Adding ingredients

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saifah's point of view so far

**Adding ingredients**

Music blared through Saifah’s headphones whilst he was setting up the necessary ingredients and equipment for his shift. He had to make sure everything was ready and prepared because he would have to teach ‘the new guy’ today. Why the other guy left, he still had no clue, but he wasn’t looking forward to the amount of stress of teaching someone from scratch. Normally he started his shift around 02:45, but to make the necessary preparations before the guy showed up, he came in 30 minutes early. If this guy turned out to be a total nightmare, Saifah would consider quitting this job. It's not like he needed the money after all, university was covered by his scholarship and the condo he lived at was paid for by his parents. No, the only reason why Saifah took a part-time job was because he wanted to travel the world, get a feeling of different cultures, experience their music, taste their food. 

Saifah practically envisioned his entire trip already, just him, a suitcase with clothing and his guitar. He would go to Havana and witness the diverse music culture, hop from bar to bar and hopefully play along if allowed. He would eat at Bouchons in Lyon, where the cuisine is defined by its simplicity and rich, heavy qualities. The family-run bistro was known for their distinctive homemade cuisine, atmosphere, and décor. The next plane would take him to hopefully see the Northern lights, but even without, Iceland was a wonderful place with glaciers, geysers, massive waterfalls and volcanoes. And he would be a fool if he missed out on the wildlife in the African countries, or the vast and diverse nature in Madagascar, surfing in Australia and wearing a kimono in Kyoto. There was just so much to see!

Saifah walked over to the storage room to fill up some supplies whilst browsing songs to fit his mood. Having found the perfect song for the occasion, he leaned against the shelves and thought some more about his plans for the future. He knew that a lot of people thought about him as an einzelgänger(loner), but if it was up to Saifah, he would rather travel with a companion. Huffing to himself, he grabbed the supplies he needed and headed back out.

_Do be real Sai,_ he thought to himself, _no one would want to deal with you and travel around the world._ Maybe it was a good thing that he never dated seriously, what if the other one didn't want to travel? One particular face suddenly flashed across his mind, for a brief second. Wait…..why did he just think of him? I mean, sure, Zon was cute and Saifah noticed that pretty early on, but why did his face just flash before him. A confused Saifah put the supplies down on the counter and let his mind wander to what happened weeks ago.

Standing there with papers in his hands, Saifah watched as Zon sprinted off to the bus stop in a hurry. Tutor got up from the bench as well after that once he spotted Fighter, who was crossing the square, carrying quite a few bags with him.

"Sai, I'm going to help Fighter move to his new dorm. Please take care of Zon's project." Tutor patted him on the shoulder and left him with said project still in his hands. Careful as to not mess things up, he flipped the files of the project around and checked the content. After quickly browsing through it, Sai confirmed that everything was present, and the project was set up really well, but the last few pages were half torn.

_That probably happened when Zon took the files out of his bag in a hurry_ , Sai thought to himself. _Should he….?_

Sai pondered to himself whether to help the small and cute person or to leave the project as it was, torn pages and all. Whilst he was deep in thought, his feet already made the decision for him, as he was heading for one of the computer rooms nearby. One and a half hours later, Saifah made his way over to Prof Medthan's room at the 2nd floor with a retyped, printed and rebound project. Saifah hoped this would please Zon, it was after all an important part of his grade, as Zon pointed out to him earlier. He nodded to what he guessed was one of Prof Medthan's colleagues, dropped the file in the mailbox and made his way home, feeling quite good about himself.

Looking back on it again, Saifah was pretty sure Zon never mentioned a time limit to him. It made all the difference between a good outcome and what happened instead. Sighing, Saifah cleaned the counter thoroughly in preparation for what was to come. He could still imagine Zon standing on the bench to try and tower over him, how he looked both mad and feisty at the same time, and how Sai thought it looked kind of cute in a way. But nowadays, Zon only responded to him whenever he made him mad. Not that Saifah hadn't tried, but everytime he tried to treat Zon nicely, he was just ignored instead. If Saifah was being honest, it kind of upset him when Zon ignored him, so in the end he decided to go for the 'making him mad but get a reaction' route. Though he always felt bad about it afterwards, it really was the only way Zon would communicate with him.

Annoyed with himself because he thought of the past again, he browsed through his songs to find a soft mellow rock song. And that's when he thought he heard something outside. Saifah checked the clock on the wall, which showed him that it was 02:50. Maybe the new guy arrived already? He put the volume of his music down a notch, and after what felt like a few seconds, heard what now was definitely a knock on the door. He threw the cleaning cloth towards the sink and went to open the door, whilst trying to erase his earlier thoughts about Zon, this wasn't important at the moment. Little did he know, that when he opened the door fully, he would be face to face with the one who had just been on his mind….

"...Sai..?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter this time, and tbh they might stay on the short side. Much easier to update. I hope you enjoyed this part :)


	3. Mixing it up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens on the night shift at the bakery?

**Mixing it up**

It felt like several minutes had passed since the door was opened. The pure utter shock on Zon's face when he realised Saifah was his working partner to-be, was still visible. _Of all the people….why him…_ Zon shook his head, trying to snap out of it. They both spoke at the same time.

"Why does it have to be you?"

"It's you…"

A scowl appeared on Zon's face as he was once again reminded why he hated Saifah.

"Whatever, I am leaving. Tell the boss that I can't work with someone like you." Zon tried turning around to head for his bike, but Saifah's hand on his shoulder stopped him. Eyeing him from the side, Zon raised his eyebrows as if to say 'what do you want'. Saifah licked his lips before speaking in a calm and soothing manner.

"Look, I know you don't like me for the incident in the past, but this isn't university, it's work. I would like to keep things separate, this is business after all. I can promise you I will keep things purely professional." Removing his hand from Zon's shoulder, Saifah swallowed a few times, words seeming harder to come out after his initial outburst.

"Besides, if you leave now….the boss will be in huge trouble as I won't be able to do all the work by myself. Do you really want to be such a burden to him? He treats everyone around here nicely and with respect, I don't think he deserves that. Please….. just stay." Zon looked up at the last few words Saifah said. It sounded….like he was almost begging? He searched Saifah's eyes, but he only found honesty in them.

 _What should I do now? He has a point, the boss really doesn't deserve it. Arghhh, I hate it when that long beanstalk is right!_ Zon winced as he thought about the idea of giving in to Saifah, but it didn't seem like he had another choice.

"Fine!!! I'll help out. BUT! Only for today, I will talk to our boss after that myself to tell him he has to find someone else. Now, can you let me in already so we can get this over with?" He pushed a somewhat stunned Saifah to the side to enter the bakery. Saifah blinked a few times, but followed shortly after.

Still silently cursing himself for agreeing, Zon grabbed his apron and put it on before looking around in the kitchen. He'd never stepped in here before when people were still preparing or baking, so it was all new to him.

_Man, if I want this day to be somewhat smooth I need to run down some sort of working conditions. The faster I'm done here the better…_

"can we quickly talk through some stuff before we start? I would like to make this as painless and effortless as possible, but I think we need some agreement for that when it comes to working conditions. Things like no unnecessary chatter and only talk about work related stuff, only show me the basics that i need to know for today, as I'm not planning to take this shift again, and you can't get mad at me if I fuck up. Just tell me exactly what to do and leave me to it, so we can work separately." Zon eyed Saifah expectantly, hoping that the tall boy would agree. He saw some sort of inner struggle in his eyes, but he couldn't put a finger on what kind of struggle it was. Whatever it was, it disappeared from his eyes as Saifah nodded his head in agreement.

"That sounds reasonable to me, wash your hands so we can get started." 

The first two hours went by in a heartbeat. Much to Zon's surprise, Saifah actually kept to the agreement and only showed Zon what he needed to know, nothing more. His explanation was swift and to the point, he made sure Zon knew and understood the basics, like mixing ingredients, working the oven, and he showed him how to execute some moves when it came to rolling and shaping dough. Though the last part was where Zon currently struggled. He was supposed to shape the dough into a round bun, but no matter how often he rolled the ball of dough about, it would always end up uneven. Silently cursing himself for being unable to perform what looked like an easy task, he was considering his options at this very moment. Either he asked Saifah for help, or he would just shape weird looking buns. Zon didn't really want to make his boss look bad by producing these half-assed buns, so he only had one option left. He side-eyed Saifah who was standing at the other end of the counter, already glancing Zon's way.

_W_ _hy is he looking my way…. Has he been following my every move so far? Does he already realise that I need help? Should I ask or is he coming to help on his own accord? What should I do...aarghhh! Get it together, man. Let's just ask, he's been exceptionally cooperative so far._

"Sai..? Could you maybe.. I mean… I'm having trouble.. I can't.." He struggled to form a coherent sentence, but thankfully Saifah already made his way over to check what the problem was.

"You're having trouble shaping the dough? Do you have enough flour on your hands so the dough doesn't stick?" Zon showed his hands, which were basically covered top to bottom in flour. A small laugh escaped Zon's lips.

"Too much?"

"Just shake the excess flour off, it should be fine. I have no other way of showing you how, so we will have to do this together." Saifah moved to stand behind Zon, his arms encircling him and grabbing a hold of his hands. Zon's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he felt more than saw Saifah pressed against his back and his hands on him.

_WHAT ON EARTH DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING?! Does he have to stand so close?... Well, I guess he does if he wants to guide my hands, but… Am I overthinking this? He's just showing me how it's done right? Ok, breathe Zon, stop feeling weird, nothing is going on._

"Make sure to have your hands cupped, and to let the dough roll on its own. Don't try to grip it tightly or squish it, you will get weird shapes like that plus the dough will stick to your hands. Follow my lead." Saifah made circling motions with his hands still gripping Zon's, whilst Zon was trying his best to focus on what their hands were doing, instead of the feeling of Saifah's body against his and the warm touch of his hands.

"Ok, try again but on your own now. Your grip needs to be a bit looser. There you go." Saifah patted Zon's back and went back to do his own tasks, leaving Zon and his still partially weird looking dough buns alone. After a few more attempts he sort of got the hang of it, though the thought of what happened earlier did not leave his mind throughout this entire process.

The rest of the shift passed by rather uneventfully. As it turned out, they didn't need a lot of conversation to know and understand the other, which seemed rather foreign to Zon. He never experienced this with anyone else before, not even with his friends. Zon didn't like to admit it, but working with Saifah wasn't actually as horrible as he first thought. He rode his bike through the early morning sunlight on the way home.

 _S_ _o_ _, maybe Sai isn't a horrible person, was I wrong in accusing him back then? Wait, when did I start using Sai? Egh, not the issue at the moment. Maybe I should give him a bit of slack, I trust Tutor and he is still Tutor’s friend…. Talking about him, I still need to settle a score with that rascal. He definitely knew that Sai was working at the same bakery._

Zon parked his bike at his dorm building and grabbed his phone, deciding to call Tutor first. It rang a few times before Tutor picked up.

"Hey Zon, how was your.."

"Me working the Saturday night shift was INTERESTING huh, Tutor? I knew you were acting suspicious when we talked about it. Why didn't you just tell me?" He interrupted Tutor before he could even finish his sentence. Tutor sighed after Zon's rant, and Zon could almost imagine Tutor rolling his eyes at him on the other end of the line.

"Are you done ranting? Let's be honest here, Zon. If you knew it was Saifah you had to work with, would you still have done it? I think we both know you would run to your boss and tell him to find someone else. But I also know you need the money Zon, so I made the decision not to tell you and let fate play its part. He's not a bad person, he is kind, friendly, and a hard worker. You should really give him the benefit of the doubt, and yes I know what happened to your project, but this ain't school we're talking about."

The somewhat harsh words made Zon ponder about whether Tutor was right or not. He certainly made some strong points, and Zon knew Tutor wouldn't lie when it came down to serious stuff.

"Maybe you are right Tutor, but you know I can't just forget the crappy thing he's done. I would have never done what he did, no matter who the person was."

"Did it ever occur to you to just ask Saifah what happened? Just a thought. I do have to go now though, so I will speak to you another time Zon." 

Unable to shake the phone call with Tutor out of his mind, Zon called Zen after. It had been a while since he talked to him after all, and he needed a second opinion.

"Hey Zen, remember the topic we talked about last time through Line? I uh.. Well as it turns out, my new colleague in the night shift is Saifah, and I am not sure what to feel about this entire situation. I know he's fucked up my project's grade, but then Tutor said I should give him a chance as a colleague. He even said to maybe talk to Saifah as well, and I am confused, because the night shift wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Am I still making sense?"

"Ok Zon, calm down first. Take a deep breath, it sounds like you have been overthinking again with that peanut brain of yours. Start from the beginning, what did Tutor say exactly?" 

He ended up in a lengthy discussion with Zen, which lasted for over an hour. Zen pretty much agreed with Tutor’s point of view, which in turn made him think that maybe he was in the wrong after all. Was he really to blame for his own bad grade as well? He had talked about this with both Tutor and Zen before, and Tutor claimed he wasn't sure when Zon mentioned the time limit. Zen however, bluntly said that he should have just missed the bus and delivered it himself rather than put the task on someone else. Zon wasn't sure about anything anymore.

The next shift he had at the bakery was after his uni classes on Tuesday, and it was with Fai again. Whilst Zon didn't mind her, it made a huge difference compared to working with Saifah. She was quite a blabbermouth, and Zon found himself secretly wishing for the quiet understanding he and Saifah seemed to have had last Saturday, which was kind of surprising. After the shop closed, the boss called him in to ask about the night shift and how he thought about it.

"It was fine, i guess. I learned a lot in just one shift. Have you found someone else yet?" His boss sighed before answering Zon's question.

"No, I am afraid I haven't found anyone yet. Even the job agencies have no one for me, I am at a loss. Maybe I should ask every employee to take turns until I do find someone."

Zon saw him rubbing his face, like he was tired. He didn't really know what came over him, but suddenly he heard himself say "It's ok, I will take the Saturday night shifts for now." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I have found a new job so updates might be slower from now on. I hope you like this chapter :)


	4. Let the dough rise

Zon's alarm went off at 02:00 AM on a chilly Saturday morning, which woke him from a somewhat pleasant dream, even though he already could not remember what it was about. The only thing that stuck in his brain was the vague smell of cinnamon and baked apples, it felt familiar somehow. Whatever the dream was, it made sure that Zon was in a good mood when he made his way over to the bakery. He stored his bike at his usual spot and knocked on the back door, still whistling a song he had on his Spotify a second ago. 

_Will Sai be surprised when he finds out he's stuck with me? I do wonder…. I mean I did tell our boss to not let him know yet, but why did I say that? It's not like we're friends… maybe he will be disappointed instead.._

Not knowing why that thought made him feel a pang of sadness, he kicked some pebbles about whilst waiting for Saifah to open the door.

"Zon..?" He slowly turned around, scared of how Saifah might react, and searched for an answer in his eyes. What he found was two big perplexed eyes staring back at him, like he was both happy and confused as to why Zon was here.

"Oh I am so glad that it's you! I was worried that I would get a random stranger. Why didn't the boss tell me this? Come inside, it's rather freezing out."

 _He...he's happy that I'm here?_ A dumbfounded Zon just stood there, gazing up at Saifah's face, not being able to move.

"Y-you don't mind that it's me? I mean, I don't really know a lot yet and I might mess up…" Zon stumbled over his words and thought he made a fool of himself, but instead he saw the beginnings of small wrinkles in the corners of his eyes that indicated a smile.

"Of course not, I will be the one teaching you anyway. It will work out fine, but really, do come in. I care little for freezing my jewels off." Saifah laughed at that, and motioned a still astounded Zon to go inside.

Saifah kept true to his word and taught Zon new recipes, explaining each step slowly and thoroughly. Not all were as easy as Saihah made them seem though, as he was experiencing at this very moment. Tongue almost out of his mouth in pure concentration, Zon worked on folding his recently risen dough in the correct way. "How did you even do this? Mine just looks like a turd, gah." He sighed in defeat and eyed his massacred ball of dough with a frown on his face. Hearing Saifah's snicker across the room, he looked up to indeed see small wrinkles adorn his face again. It made him look..attractive. 

_wait, what? Since when do I think of men as attractive? Not that I was ever against the idea of it, but…this, this is new. Oh crap he's coming my way now, good job Zon on spacing out whilst ogling at his face!_

All of a sudden painfully aware of his clumsy hands and sweat on his face, Zon tried to wipe off the excess dough from his hands and grabbed a tissue to dry his face before Saifah came close enough to notice. Just like last time, Saifah went to stand behind him to grab his hands. Thank god he wiped his face! Feeling the warmth seep through on his back was like walking in the sun on a Summer's day. His muscles relaxed somewhat and he unconsciously inhaled deeply. Saifah's scent was somewhat….familiar? 

He turned his view from his hands that were guided by Sai, towards his face. Was he really wrong in his judgement towards him? Saifah has only treated him well during their work together, helped Zon whenever he needed it. Maybe he isn't a terrible person after all…. He gazed at Saifah's face, noticing details he hadn't seen before. How small his eyes were compared to his, his hair shiny, cheeks rosy coloured and lips…

Zon swallowed hard. Turning his eyesight back to the hands forming the dough in the right shape, he mentally cursed himself. This was really not the time or place for this, whatever "this" was. 

He turned his full attention back to where it was supposed to be, learning as much as possible from Saifah during the night shifts on Saturday whilst chit-chatting here and there. Yes, even though Zon said no unnecessary talk during work, he now even tried to start a conversation every now and then. During their shifts, he found out that Sai played guitar, liked good food and he apparently wanted to travel the world. Zon on the other hand, had gotten better at his tasks and they managed to work together flawlessly, as if they had for years. This obviously led to some more spare time in between, which was currently spent with comparing music taste (both turned out to love Indie music), their mutual friend Tutor, and talking about university. The Tutor / university topic made Zon phase out for a second, remembering what Tutor said a while ago. But how was he supposed to ask about his failed project without the atmosphere taking a 180 degree turn? When would be the right time to even ask such a thing. Sure, their relationship had gotten better over the past few shifts together, but Zon still wasn't sure where they stood. Were they now…friendly colleagues? Or friends? Or nothing at all and Sai was just being a decent human being by talking to him? Saifah's fingers suddenly snapping in front of his face snapped him out of his daze.

"Where did your mind drift off to this time?" He flicked Zon's forehead before continuing. "I asked if you had lectures of that smelly old goat as well. What was his name again, Theera-something. Not sure if he has your department under his wings as well." 

"Uhhh, I think so? But not my year, he has the seniors." Zon answered while rubbing his forehead absentmindedly, his earlier thought slowly slipping to the back of his mind. "Cookies next, right? I'll go grab the ingredients." They went on with work and Zon quickly forgot about his troubled mind.

The wind was swirling around Zon's face as he sat on one of the benches outside at university, waiting on his so-called friends to show up. It was Thursday afternoon and they planned to work on a new project after their lecture. They quickly went to grab some snacks and drinks, so Zon was securing the picnic table for their group. They sure took their sweet time though, Zon thought as he unconsciously drew circle patterns on his notebook. It took them 17 minutes, not that he had been counting, before they came back carrying refreshments. Zen was the first to sit down next to Zon, muttering a sorry under his breath towards him.

"What took you guys so long?"

"Oh hooo!" Junior crashed down opposite of Zon. "Is our little Zon annoyed? We encountered the ladies' swim team on our way back, so we obviously had to wish them good luck on their competition next week, didn't we Nathee?" A stupid grin appeared on both their faces as they bumped their fists together.

"We sure did! Shame you didn't get to score their numbers though, maybe next time. Persistence pays off usually." Nathee ripped open a bag of crisps to stuff his face and grabbed his stuff. "Alright, let's do this thing quickly. I got some errands to run soon." 

They worked together quite harmoniously (for their doing) for about an hour after they divided the work. That was, until Zen and Zon discovered that both Junior and Nathee basically only watched YouTube videos of people pulling pranks during this time. They almost got away with it too, if it weren't for Junior bursting out in a laughing fit at one of the clips. Zon watched as Zen tried to berate the both of them, knowing that it would fail anyways. It always did. His attention however got side-tracked as he saw a tall figure emerge from the left side, just past the university buildings. _What is he doing here?_ Zon pondered as he watched him come closer. He let his eyes roam Saifah's body whilst he was still a safe distance away. Admittedly, he did have nice physique, for a tall giraffe that is. It looked like he was searching for someone? As he kept looking around whilst moving himself across the yard. Zon was still staring in his direction when Saifah suddenly locked eyes with him. _Crap! Oh no, was I eyeing him again? And he even saw me this time!_

Acting like a deer caught in headlights, zon jumped and turned his face away, in Zen’s direction. To be hit by a second wave of embarrassment, as he was looking at him curiously and asked, "What were you looking at, Zon?" He visibly cringed and shook his head.

"Nothing, nothing. What are we gonna do about these two idiots?" He inclined his head towards Junior and Nathee, who were unfazed by Zen’s earlier outburst.

"I don't know… the usual? Let's face it, we always do their work because we do it better than they ever will.. remember last time when.." Zen’s voice came to an abrupt halt when Sai stopped at their table.

"Hey Zon, sorry to disturb, but have you seen Tutor? He was supposed to meet me 30 minutes ago but he never showed."

"Hmm no, I haven't. If I do see him though, I will point him your way." 

After a nod of gratitude from Sai's part and a wave of goodbye from Zon's, he looked back at his friends, to see them staring at him.

"So, Zon. WHEN did you and literal God Saifah get close? Like did i miss something important here?" Junior poked Nathee in the ribs. "Did you know?" Nathee shook his head.

"I am as amazed as you are, really. But..Guys… ehh, I kinda.. yeah I need to go, I need to take a shit. Cya tomorrow yeah?" Within the blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving Junior behind as the only slacker. Not for long though as he brought up his supposed errand to run, and was gone not two minutes later. Zen sighed next to him, already packing his backpack, ready to go as well.

"Let's just do as usual, yeah? You take Junior's part, I'll take Nathees." He reluctantly agreed, knowing he would regret it later on. Junior's part actually had a part in that he did not understand, at all. 

Help came from an unexpected corner though, as Saifah made his way back to their table, telling him not to worry about Tutor anymore since he got a text from him, and asking what he was doing.

"Oh, you got this assignment from Prof. Suwicha? I can help you with that. She gave us the same sort of assignment earlier this year. When do you have time?" 

  
  


And so Zon found himself in Saifah’s dorm room after the Saturday night shift. The look on Zen’s face and the guilty feeling of having misjudged Sai still fresh on his mind. He had a lengthy discussion with Zen when Sai left the other day, and it really made him realise once again, that his judgement back then was wrong. And honestly, it was his own fault from the start. It was always easier to blame others over himself, instead of admitting his own mistake. He should really talk about that subject soon, maybe even today. But how...

He looked around the room, as if he could find anything that would help him solve the issue. What he found was an actually ok looking dorm, it was filled with uni books, indie records, his precious guitar, and some random laundry thrown about here and there. The rest was tidy, for a student. Sai was rummaging through the fridge in search of some drinks, so he decided to sit down on the floor, next to his table.

"Is lemonade ok? If not, I have some herbal tea, too."

"Lemonade is fine, thanks." They got settled in quickly and started on the project. As Saifah was explaining parts of the subject that he didn't understand, he couldn't help but to sneak a glance at his face every now and then. He looked so focused and diligent on the task, which made Zon all the more remorseful with each passing second. The more he looked, the more he felt it in his bones that he really was such a good and trustworthy person. 

"So you see here, both A and C turned out the… Why, why are you looking at me like that?" Their eyes met, and for the next few seconds it was as if time came at a standstill. His breathing faltered. _Oh my world, he is breathtaking. Now I see why Junior called him a literal god._ Looking at his brown eyes made him feel like he could drown in them, an ocean of calm projected outwards. All of a sudden realising Sai asked a question, he quickly diverted his eyes and stuttered,

"I, uhhh, at nothing, nothing yeah. I-I didn't quite catch what you said. Can you repeat it please?" He felt a trickle of sweat running down his face, and wanted to wipe it off with his sleeve. He got beat to it however, by Saifah who out of nowhere pulled out a tissue and softly dabbed at his skin.

"You sweat easily, don't you?" His breath hitched a second time in the space of a minute, when he realised how closely Sai had come to wipe down his sweat. 

Not knowing what to say, he kept quiet instead, waiting on Saifah to back off. Instead, he came even closer to explain the parts that Zon didn't hear a minute ago. Legs and thighs touching where they weren't before, he could feel his heartbeat quickening. _WHAT IS HAPPENING! Why do I react this way?_ His thigh actually felt like it was burning from the contact, his eyes focused on Sai's slender fingers that were pointing stuff out in his notebook. He scrambled up out of pure panic, muttered "bathroom" and legged towards it. Once inside the bathroom, he sat on the toilet whilst trying to control his erratic heartbeat.

"I don't know what the fuck's wrong with you Zon, but act normal for goodness sake." _Am I just feeling guilty? Is that why my heart won't stop acting up lately? Must be it right, I mean this is Saifah we are talking about. You hated him a few weeks ago! …..But then.. I don't hate him now, not anymore. Ok Zon, just ask him about the past and get this over with. It will surely help clear my conscience._

He emerged after a few minutes of peptalk. Saifah still sat at the table in the same position, though now with a half crooked smile plastered on his face. He sat back down next to him, though with enough space between them so he wouldn't feel the heat radiating from his body, and carefully started talking.

"First of all, thank you for helping me with this, I really appreciate it. You have been a good teacher at work too, especially because you succeeded in teaching clumsy me. But there's just something that has been on my mind for quite a while now, and I kind of need to know." He inhaled deeply a few times, not knowing what made him so nervous.

"What happened a few months ago with my project? I… I know I have been a stubborn fool by not letting you finish talking back then. And I can't help but feel that maybe I was wrong…" His voice faltered, and he had to gather all of his courage to look towards Saifah. 

"Zon…"

**Author's Note:**

> Please bear with me, as this is like the first ever story i will write, so i will be slow.  
> I will probly update in smaller chapters from now on.
> 
> added note,   
> bold and in italic text = text messages  
> italic only = thoughts monologue


End file.
